Family Reunion

Dear friends,
We spent the weekend reconnecting with family, some of whom we haven’t seen for most of twenty years. It was a good time, a perfect day, and an ideal location. It always interests me to see how well we have all aged (or not). I enjoyed the little kids and their exuberance for life. Then there are the older kids; they appear to be mostly bored and wishing they were home with their friends. And the old people? They just tell stories of how it used to be.

Family is one of those things the Lord has blessed us with, that too often we forget. It shouldn’t take a family reunion, wedding, or the funeral of a member of the family to get us together. In the “old days”, our families were not separated by distance as much as today, and yet with all the means we have available to stay in touch, it seems harder to stay connected. I don’t necessarily have any answers; I’m just thinking out loud here.

Time is fleeting. Life is short. We need to stay in touch, at least occasionally, because we have no guarantee that any of us will be here next week, or next year. This might be the time to remind ourselves if there is a broken or damaged relationship somewhere in our family, it is time to start the mending process. It would be better to have restored a relationship than a lifetime of regret for not doing so.

Today (Monday), I will check in at the hospital for a CT scan. It is just over a year since I had the medical emergency and night-time ride in the medical helicopter. The scan will tell the doctor if all is well, and if the medication is doing its job. This could be the reason for the thoughts on family and relationships this week.

I’ll leave you with two biblical references regarding our plans and the brevity of life: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes… “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live…” (James 4:14-15). “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8).